There are a handful of people on the planet that are seeking to achieve the ultimate bragging right in the world of street legal drag racing. That’s the title of “world’s quickest street legal car” and right now Larry Larson is the man to beat but that was not always the case. England’s Andy Frost had the quickest street legal car in the world for a long stretch of time and while others were creeping in on his territory, it was Larson who literally nuked the record last year at Hot Rod Magazine Drag Week with a 6.19-second elapsed time that he then bettered with a 5-second blast at the PSCA Street Car Super Nationals in Las Vegas. Those were literally the shots heard ’round the world.
In this teaser for a potential full length film called “Gone In Five Seconds”, Andy Frost is at his most candid. He talks about the sting of seeing Larry run the numbers, the anger stirred by the reaction from said runs, the doubt of even wanting to continue racing, and finally the realization that with some creativity and help from his friends, he could put together a potent counter punching effort in Europe. For many years, Frost was only competing with himself and then when Larson built the S10, everything changed. Instead of being the guy with the target on his back, he’s now the one chasing.
This is not an over the top profile of Frost. It IS the first piece we have ever seen that finally puts the pieces together with respect to the fact that this is a multi-continent battle that is reminiscent of the great land speed duels that happened before the Breedlove/Arfons show of the middle 1960s. Frost brings up Larson repeatedly, he states unequivocally that Tom Bailey will be punching into the fives soon enough and he’s pretty honest with his situation. Frost played the right card with regard to helping raise funds for his program. Like a small scale version of the Bloodhound SSC car, he appealed to the national pride of fellow Brits and that has garnered him support and funding that he needed. On the other side, there are companies here stateside supporting his cause as well.
I’ll probably catch a load of heat for what I am saying here but the reality is that for a place like BangShift, this type of battle is awesome. This is compelling stuff that is polarizing and it gets people talking. We have respect for everyone that is in the hunt for this simultaneously meaningless and meaningful title. They are all vastly faster than us. They are all dealing with engineering issues and obstacles we’ll never consider. I’d also argue that there’s all damned good guys as well. They don’t have to like each other but I’d venture to guess that in private conversation they’d all admit to respecting one another.
Want to know what the biggest story in drag racing could be in 2015? This.
Larry took giant steps and Tom is taking some now too. Can Andy’s apparent baby steps fill the gap? Will Tom’s giant steps be charted out well enough for the quick results needed to stay in the spotlight? Remember Larry came out fast and dominated with the Chevy II and now the S-10. Sick Seconds 1 took how long to make a dent in the lead? And of course Andy was in his own competition of non-Drag Week, losing Pro Mod effort. Note not ONE mention of Drag Week. If the Euros want to compete shouldn’t they run something similar? And if it really is a matter of national or continental pride shouldn’t they source more parts locally?
Larry’s domination with the Chevy II did not happen right off the bat. Remember he had been on DW in 2005 and his streak of domination started in 2007. Larry’s history with that Chevy II goes back to the late 1980s. He may have “come out fast” on the national stage with that car but it was a decade+ long “overnight success”.
The S10 is by far the most advanced machine ever built for this job (save perhaps the new Bailey car). Andy’s Red Victor has been deep into the 6s so it isn’t like the thing is unproven.
I think it is tough to indict Andy on the Drag Week format. You can drive the country of England from the southern most point to it’s northern terminus in like 8 hours. When Rod Sadboury was the target initially, it was years before DW existed.
Careful on the locally sourced parts argument. Larson’s FuelTech ECU that worked as the brains of the truck comes from South America.
The Chevy II comment was based on the quick single E.T. of Drag Week like the S-10 did this year. You could do a Drag Week based on a single track and a location or series of locations to spend the night at. I’ll let the Brazillian fastest street car racers debate the injection controller. Yes, I’m a Larson cheerleader, like the video described is more about Frost cheerleaders than Red Victor itself. Oh Yes, if you want to crowdfund Larry like they are Andy he is selling t-shirts, hats and other sundry momentos on Larson Race Cars Facebook page. THAT, not any potential full-length is the point of the video.
a dw event will not happen here in europe imho, nowhere near the scale it does in the USA anyway, imho due to many factors, the weather being the main one, money and id say number of participants. Drag racing is a minority sport over here, done by those who are passionate about it, it really is a small scene here compared to its birthplace, Theres 4-5 events in the european championship a year, often getting rained out, meaning a hell of a lot less track time.
Drag week is not the defining factor, being street legal is, which differs from place to place I guess. If the contest was to see who has the fastest DW car, then yes the only fair way of judging would be to run a DW style event, or racing on the street, which is unthinkable.
best of luck to all those who step up, build, and run these cars! its gonna be entertaining!
Source parts locally?
For an American (GM) based engine!!! Really?
The body is UK based.
The chassis is UK built (The chrome molly may have started it’s raw life in a Russian mountain but I’m sure you’ll let that go).
The driver was made in the UK!!
What do you suggest?
A BMW engine with a Renault gearbox powering an Alfa Romeo axle in a Lotus bodied Mercedes chassis all bought within a 5 mile radius of Wolverhampton?
Street legal means just that. It does not require confirmation at any level or proof on any continent.
Larry could have run those numbers without doing drag week & still been able to claim the title (wouldn’t he, or would the American drag fans have dismissed a record breaking achievement?) The fact it’s now been accepted that Larry ‘took’ the title away from Andy is confirmation enough that that Andy’s claim was legitimate. Therefore by that accepted example any attempt be it successful or not by any racer within or outside of the USA must be recognised.
Also remember, not ONE BIT of hype about the S-10 until less than a month before Drag Week 2014. Anyone else getting a little tired of hearing about it’s impending potential downfall all damn year long?
I originally thought Andy was a bit of a tosser. His response to getting knocked off the hill last year made me reconsider. I suspect the chatter on certain sites manages to rattle from time to time but he came across like a class act. He seems to have his head on right. Best of luck to him!
W T F !!! Begging for money to race. If you cant afford to go faster, hang it up. Or have Bailey ( A K A Checkbook Charlie ) write you a check. Larry has sponsors, sells hats , shirts, but has NEVER asked for people to contribute cash on the internet. Stay over your side of the pond and admit defeat ! COME TO DRAG WEEK if you con enough people out of their money… LOSER!!!!!
its attitudes like that, that ruin the good things in life.
Well said.
What attitude.? Send him some money, you probably get yours once a month from the government anyway if you agree with him. Instead of him whining, what would have been wrong to send congrats to Larry, and say you just moved the bar a little higher for everybody? I ruin nothing, I am a realist, pay my own way and can admit when somebody betters my achievements. Get a life a life and you and Malc send him some cash. DICK!
that attitude! lol did you not watch the video, he quite clearly acknowledges what larson did and is taking steps to compete for the title.
I would like to see if you had your “friendly” attitude towards andy frost, myself and malc face to face, all too easy behind a keyboard. And for the record, I bought a t-shirt of the guy, the least i could do to show my support.
Get a grip, you just took the bait too easy, as I knew someone would bite lmao
My attitude is only based on his begging. He has a VERY fast car, no doubt
.Now bring it over here and drive 1000 miles regardless of how fast it is. He has been dodging Drag Week for a while. I know the cost to ship is astronomical, and people here have offered to help him get here, but he still sits over there. Yes I watched the video, Im not impressed. My attitude is the SAME in person. If you want face to face, make sure you have good insurance, you will need it. I do not hide behind a keyboard, and I don’t like beggars. Have a good day.
Yes it is. Vinnie, you are an uneducated twat!!! Clearly you have no clue how difficult it is to fund a race car in the UK. How is people wanting to pledge money begging? It shows to me the depth of feeling within the drag racing community here. It’s a very underrated sport here,with little or no TV coverage, unlike the US, so sponsorship is little or none existent. If your a real drag racing fan, you should welcome the competition instead of hating on people!!!
Twat ? Why bring your mum into this . People HERE offered to help him to get R V over. We welcome the competition, if he wanted to be here, it would be done. No more excuses. His car is FAST , no doubt, but can he drive it 1000 miles , all kinds of roads, bad weather. Hell, I was on US 22 and got passed by Larry Larson like it was nothing. im done responding to you idiots. Put up or shut up.
Isn’t it funny that no one seems to remember who won Drag Week? Larson limped along all week and saved his fast run for the last event. Was his run impressive? Yes it was, but I’ll be impressed when he can do it all week.
I will be more impressed when Larson can run a number without gutting the entire truck, then putting it back together to drive it, He may as well have 2 trucks.
trouble is the unlimited class has “gone there”. If you want real production, then its a different story and class. In drag bikes, there’s “Real Street”, and “Pro Street” for example. Very different. There’s also Street Fighter and Street ET classes. All are DOT tires and no wheelie bars permitted.
I applaud Mr Larson, and his ability to compete against any and all comers.
awww…spoken like a true key board commando with a 9 second car on blocks in front of his momma’s house
Everyone needs to get over the “Transformer” thing. With the Chevy II Larry was the leader of the “no trailer” pack. Remember the S-10 is the anti-Chevy II in answer to Bailey and Ahokas. Recently Larry has done some exhibitions, no pressure to set any records and he ran with the radiator and stock doors. Still went faster than Bailey or Ahokas.
I do feel bad that Jeff Lutz FINALLY winning Drag Week was somewhat overshadowed by Larry’s herculean effort to finish…
driving around town and driving drag week….two differant things. also what a self seving film , me me me . nice mustang at 3.21 best part of video
Well of course its “me, me ,me” the video is about him and his car!
If anyone else was having a documentary made on their activities, of course they’re gonna talk about what they are doing.
IMO… Anybody that competes in Drag Week has my respect… Anyone that competes in Drag Week and finishes is just a Badass plain and simple… Mr Frost has a badass car no doubt, But what makes me like Larson and Chad is the fact that they worked their asses off for sponsors and built a car that no one knew about. Can’t wait to see this years Drag Week… Its gonna be epic.
Lets take a moment to realise that the challenge here is “fastest street car”
What determines a street car?
Is it legally able to drive on the road, drive in to a track and run? Is that a fair explanation? Ok everyone has their differing opinions, but the contest is for “fastest/quickest street car” is it not?
If it was for fastest drag week car, well, thats a whole new discussion.
Lets take a moment to remember, Mr Frost has been over the pond, before drag week existed, and did pretty well. He did pretty well in the street eliminator class in the uk too, and believe me when I say, its not easy to get a car legal over here, lots of red tape thanks to the government/european union (eu) Theyre very anti-modifying cars/ new, non-manufactured cars.
It makes me laugh how people so casually post their spiteful comments. If its so easy to build and run a five second street car, without sponsorship and donations then do it. If the redvictor team do get over to the US, hopefully Drag week, go and say it to their face, I dare ya!
How about we sit back and see who comes out on top at the end of 2015 and enjoy the journey. I dont know about anyone else but I’m looking forward to it!
See Andy? Even an article about you and your video still comes back to Larry, Chad and Drag Week. Enjoy!
http://www.redvictor1racing.co.uk/
So: Larry Larson, Andy Frost, Tom Baily and Jeff Lutz all line up four wide in Charlotte…
Now that’s a race that will sell some tickets.
now that would be a sight!
Well Street legal is an objective point,
I would be interested to see how Andy’s car did at a VOSA checkpoint and i can’t help but notice Drag Week doesn’t stray into CA…..
valid points. VOSA hates hot rodders/modified cars in here in the uk. Ok theres some death traps and cons out there, but they ruin it for the rest of us. What they dont know cant hurt them….